Purcell Man Shoots Himself During Police Chase

TRIBBEY, Okla. (AP) -- A Purcell man shot himself in the head and crashed his car while being chased by a sheriff's deputy, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.<br/><br/>Jason Beene, 19, was listed in

Wednesday, September 27th 2006, 5:55 pm

By: News On 6

TRIBBEY, Okla. (AP) -- A Purcell man shot himself in the head and crashed his car while being chased by a sheriff's deputy, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.

Jason Beene, 19, was listed in critical condition Wednesday at an Oklahoma City hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Beene was attempting to elude a Cleveland County deputy about 7:25 p.m. Tuesday when he ran off the left side of the road and slammed into an embankment, the patrol said.

A deputy saw Beene run a stop sign in far southeast Cleveland County and attempted to stop the vehicle, Cleveland County Sheriff's Capt. Doug Blaine said.

"(The deputy) just tried to make a routine traffic stop, and the vehicle accelerated and ran another stop sign," Blaine said. "He increased speeds and went about three miles into Pottawatomie County before running off the roadway."

Blaine said a handgun was found in the vehicle.